A kayak is a small, narrow boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle, a pedal mechanism or a trolling motor. Modern kayaks serve diverse purposes, ranging from slow and easy touring on placid water, to racing and complex maneuvering in fast-moving whitewater, to fishing and long-distance ocean excursions, and vary in design according to their application.
When in a kayak, a user's visibility is limited since the user's body is locked in a straight forward position. In this position, the user has a severely limited turn radius and is therefore impeded from performing actions to the sides or rear of the kayak. Additionally, the user has a limited field of view and must be extremely flexible in order to turn enough to see behind them. This can be a significant safety issue when crossing boat channels and in other situations such as attempting to ascertain the position of other people, vessels or geographical features in the vicinity. Another problem is that occasionally a kayak user who is fishing may wish to tie off in a narrow creek or mangrove tunnel, through which current is typically running. Upon tying off, the current begins to spin the kayak to face the current. This can pose issues for fishing as the user may be forced to cast their line backwards and hold the rod behind them, which can be very awkward and uncomfortable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seat insert which can be utilized with any existing kayak and which allows the kayak user to swivel their body while sitting in the kayak in order to achieve a comfortable body position for visually surveying their environment and performing actions at any angle. The insert is easily removable allowing the user to sit in the kayak conventionally in its original condition, and is also buoyant to act as a flotation device if necessary.